FILE PHOTO: Flickr/Irish Defence Forces

Some 6,000 people have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea over the past 48 hours as they attempted to reach Europe.

The Italian Coast Guard said some 3,000 people were picked up in more than 20 separate rescue operations involving the Italian coast guard and navy, the EU's EUNAVFOR mission in the Mediterranean, European Union border agency Frontex, NGOs and merchant ships.